I'm always prepared for a confrontation with a driver, but an interaction today is a good reminder of why I have a policy of starting out being nice with everyone. There's a 1/2 mile stretch of my commute that has a median which makes it so that there is not room for a car a bike to coexist; it's really narrow, and I essentially take the lane. There's also several "Bikes may use full lane" signs along this stretch, but I think most drivers ignore them. I had someone tailing me along this stretch and my spidey-sense made me think they were itching to get by me and pretty annoyed. The street widens at the light and he pulled up next to me on my left. He says something, but I didn't catch what, so I lean closer and ask him to repeat it. He says, "you don't put gas in that thing?" I laugh and say, no I put the food in me and then I make the bike go. He seems interested, I tell him he could put the suit he's wearing in a garment bag pannier and bike himself. He asks me what I do, and when I tell him IT, he says he's a recruiter and would like to get my info and he likes my personality. When the light changes, we go across and pull over and exchange contact info. It would be an interesting story if I get my next job through this guy.

Anyway, I wanted to share this because I've always found that being as friendly as possible with drivers is the right thing to do no matter what they're doing. I've caught up to people who have buzzed me and been polite and willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. Sometimes they are genuinely apologetic, which only is possible if I'm not "going in hot".